We are sorry to report you did not win the Mega Millions jackpot — unless you’re one very lucky person in South Carolina.

Someone there probably couldn’t believe his or her eyes when the magic numbers for the $1.54 billion prize were announced Tuesday night: 5, 28, 62, 65, 70; and the Mega Ball: 5.

The winning ticket was sold at a convenience store, KC Mart No. 7, in Simpsonville. The winner has not yet come forward, and has 180 days to do so.

“We don’t know at this point whether it’s one person or a group of persons, or anything about the identity of the player,” Tony Cooper, the chief operating officer of the South Carolina Education Lottery, told reporters outside the store on Wednesday.

Mr. Cooper counseled the winner to “take a deep breath, put that ticket in a secure location and consult with a trusted adviser.” And then, of course, to call the lottery.

It’s possible that the public will never learn who won. South Carolina is one of a handful of states and territories where lottery winners can remain anonymous.

The store’s owner, C.J. Patel, will receive $50,000 once the winner comes forward, publicly or not. He said he felt very fortunate, and also hoped that selling the winning ticket would bring him more customers.

“Whoever the winner is, hopefully he spends that money locally and does some good for the community,” Mr. Patel said.

Mega Millions, which revised the jackpot on Wednesday morning from the previous amount of $1.6 billion, said there were no other winners out of the 15.7 million people who bought tickets. But 36 tickets nationwide were oh-so-close, matching five of six numbers.

Reaction on Twitter came quickly — at least from those who did not win. Many lamented that, once again, they would have to go to work on Wednesday.

“I didn’t win the lottery, but I’m still planning on dying alone,” the TV host and comedian Conan O’Brien said.

Lotto fever has gripped the nation in recent weeks as jackpots have continued to swell. Tuesday’s $1.54 billion prize — which offered a lump sum of $878 million — was initially advertised as the largest lottery prize ever, surpassing the $1.59 billion Powerball jackpot drawn in 2016. But when the amount was lowered on Wednesday, it became the second largest ever.

Mega Millions tickets are sold in 44 states as well as Washington, D.C., and the Virgin Islands. If no winner comes forward, the prize money will go back to those states and territories, divided in proportion to how many tickets each sold, Mr. Cooper said.

Tickets cost $2, which seems like a relatively small price to pay for a chance at becoming rich. (And it does some good: About 43 cents of every dollar wagered goes to education, Mr. Cooper said.) But the odds of winning the Mega Millions are about 1 in 302 million.